Fandango in the Apse! by Jane Taylor Read Free Book Online

Collette now, Paula from reception
has blown him out, I think.  She’s welcome to him.’
    I eyed Eddie’s muscled thigh resting on Collette’s desk as it strained
against the fabric of his trousers.
    ‘You don’t like him?’  Personally I couldn’t see anything not to like: he
was good looking in a blonde nicely tanned way and judging by Collette’s
giggles, quite amusing to boot.
    ‘No…why would I?  Not when I have my Rick at home.’
    How could I have forgotten Suzy’s Rick?  In the three weeks I had been
employed by Laurence & Wilson, I’d had to listen to Suzy drool on about
this mysterious Nick.  I was convinced he was a figment of her imagination.  No
man alive could be as handsome, virtuous or sexy as she portrayed him.  To be
honest, and I don’t mean to be nasty here, but with the best will in the
world…she was pug-ugly andaway with the fairies most of the time.  Not
for the first time I wondered how she managed to keep her job. If she had
snared an Adonis, I was prepared to run buck-naked through the outer office.
                ‘So, Eddie is on the look-out for a new “friend” is he?’
Well, I thought, it was only fair to give him a choice.
    ‘Looks like it.  Why?  Are you interested?’
                ‘Do you want a coffee to go with those biscuits, Suzy?’ I
asked, ignoring her question.
     She nodded, her full mouth impeding speech again.  I stood doing a
mental check… I was wearing my navy skirt.  I had managed to find it in a
charity shop when I was looking for suitable “office clothes” before I started
the job.  It was well cut and expensive looking… OK, it was a little tight and
maybe a couple of inches too short, but it accentuated my figure and beggars
couldn’t be choosers, and until my first pay check hit the bank at the end of
the week, that’s exactly what I was. 
    Thank God, I had washed my hair the previous evening; it was now piled on
top of my head in a shiny mass of curls.  The uncomfortable night I’d spent in
huge rollers was about to pay off – I hoped.  Grabbing Suzy’s proffered mug and
my own, I deliberately walked past Eddie, swaying my hips a little more than
usual, as I circumnavigated the room to get to the kettle in the far corner. 
Well…come on , I had to make sure he’d seen me, didn’t I?
    ‘I watched him clocking you all the way round the room,’ Suzy couldn’t
wait to reveal as I returned with the two steaming mugs. ‘I should say you’re
in with a chance there.’
    Yay!  Job done, I thought, although I tried to be more circumspect in
front of Suzy.
    Three days passed and to my acute chagrin, especially as Suzy was in the
know, there was no sign of Eddie.  In an effort to mollify my bruised ego, I
began making excuses for him.  Obviously tallish, thin brunettes were not his thing…
perhaps he thought I was too young – pathetic really.  Trouble was, I was such
a confident little minx in those days, I just couldn’t accept rejection.
    By the fourth day, I was out of excuses and hopping mad…how dare he?  The
office Lothario and he hadn’t shown the slightest interest.  Well, it was his
loss, I told myself, as I paddled through a summer downpour on my way home.
                ‘Katie!’
    Someone had shouted my name.  I looked out from under my umbrella and
spotted Eddie leaning over from the driver’s seat, beckoning to me through the
lowered passenger window of what looked like a very sleek sports car.  I turned
and carried on towards the bus, which had with excellent timing, just arrived
at the stop. 
    Ensconced on the top deck, willing myself not to look out of the window
to see if he was following, I fumed silently.  I didn’t know if I was angrier
with myself for letting the opportunity go, or him for thinking I would run
when he deigned to show interest. 
    The next day I arrived back from lunch to find Eddie perched on the far
side of my desk, talking to an obviously